In many bulk material handling and processing operations, it often is required to transport materials from one location, usually a storage site, to another location, often another storage site or processing facility, in measured amounts. Because of the nature of the material to be transported, the conveyance of the material and the control of the desired amount of material being conveyed are often difficult to achieve. This particularly is the situation in handling and processing fine bulk materials such as carbon black, titanium oxide and similar materials. Typically, such materials are pneumatically conveyed but such method is not always effective due to poor flowability, clogging and inconsistent flow of material. In addition, most prior art systems being of a dedicated nature, lack the capability of being disassembled and reassembled to provide different material routing paths to accommodate different processes involving different equipment configurations.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a system and method for conveying precisely measured amounts of bulk materials from one site to another, rapidly and effectively without the deterioration or loss of material, in which the system may be reconfigured to provide a variety of paths for routing the material. A further object of the invention is to provide such a system providing for ease of installation, flexibility in routing of the material and ease of cleaning.